Is my heart rate where it should be?

SolidGoaled

With the calculation 220 - age, my maximum HR is 182.

When I work out (Turbo Fire) I hover in the 160's usually, once in awhile I get up to 171, 172 - but RARELY. And if I get that high, I always chill out a little until I am back in the 160s.

How do I figure what percentage of my max I am working at? My algebra skills are a bit rusty.

When I work out at 85% (155) I feel nothing - that is where I am at when I am warming up, and I feel like I am being lazy.

Thoughts on this?

xxquzme

Just work as hard as you can all the time. Your target HR zone is just an area for you to know when you are working hard and when you will burn maximum amount of cals. Really what you need to focus on is staying higher than your lowest zone number and work as hard as you can all the time. Dont think to much about it.

arinwinter

182 is pretty high. I'm 25 and my heart rate goal is from 150-170, I usually stay around 165-170 when working out. My sister's 30 and her heart rate goal is lower than mine. Sounds like where you are is good, esp if you're feeling it. Some heart rate monitors (i have a polar) will have you plug in your weight, age, etc and tell you when your in your range and when you need to pick it up or slow it down a bit.

EHuntRN

163 is about 90% of ur max
Take 182 * .90 =163
182 * .85 = 155..

It is OK 2 work above ur Target HR at some point during the excercise session....I know when I do Zumba my HR gets 2 180
..nd I jus keep going...don't kno if I'm supposed 2 but I'm having fun..nd I can hold a conversation so its not like I'm dying!!

mikeyml

With the calculation 220 - age, my maximum HR is 182.

When I work out (Turbo Fire) I hover in the 160's usually, once in awhile I get up to 171, 172 - but RARELY. And if I get that high, I always chill out a little until I am back in the 160s.

How do I figure what percentage of my max I am working at? My algebra skills are a bit rusty.

When I work out at 85% (155) I feel nothing - that is where I am at when I am warming up, and I feel like I am being lazy.

Thoughts on this?

You feel nothing when exercising at 85% of your max heart rate? That's crazy! If you're in really good shape it's possible that your maximum heart rate is a bit higher than 182, but it wouldn't be significantly higher. My max HR is 191 and at 155 I am definitely feeling the burn. Most people looking to build up their cardio try to keep their heart rate between 80 - 85% during their workout with short periods of time around 90%. When your HR is 172 (172/182) you are at 94.5% and in my opinion that is a bit high. I would try to keep your HR between 160-165 as this will put you at 87.9%-90.6%of your HR.

SolidGoaled

mikeyml - I exaggerated - I don't feel COMPLETELY nothing, but, it just feels too easy. I feel like I am short changing myself. I am new to fitness, so I think what is happening is that I am building more endurance so it doesn't feel as exhausting as it used to. I am hard on myself, so I tell myself I need to work harder. I am addicted to that high, totally worked over feeling that you get after rrrrreally flying fast for a good 45 minutes - know what I mean?

I don't mean to make myself sound like super-human with "feel nothing" comment - I guess I mean it just doesn't feel as hard as it did a month ago, and I miss that feeling.

mikeyml

mikeyml - I exaggerated - I don't feel COMPLETELY nothing, but, it just feels too easy. I feel like I am short changing myself. I am new to fitness, so I think what is happening is that I am building more endurance so it doesn't feel as exhausting as it used to. I am hard on myself, so I tell myself I need to work harder. I am addicted to that high, totally worked over feeling that you get after rrrrreally flying fast for a good 45 minutes - know what I mean?

I don't mean to make myself sound like super-human with "feel nothing" comment - I guess I mean it just doesn't feel as hard as it did a month ago, and I miss that feeling.

Just try not to be so hard on yourself. :-) There is nothing wrong with pushing yourself so you get a better workout. Just keep it in the back of your mind that when you exercise at 85% of your max then you are actually getting a good workout. It sounds like you've seen some progress and you want to feel like you're being challenged. Over time it will take more and more effort to reach your target heart rate and that will provide a nice challenge. I wish you the best of luck!

*Editing to say that I am not an expert on any of this. I'm only speaking from my own personal experiences. There are personal trainers and dietitians on this board that are much more knowledgeable about this stuff than me.